The Court of Criminal Appeal dismissed Brian Meehan’s appeals against conviction, including his conviction for the 1996 murder of journalist Veronica Guerin. In a judgment delivered on 24 July 2006, Kearns J. said the trial court had sufficient evidence to convict him on the murder, drug and firearms charges.
Meehan was convicted by the Special Criminal Court in July 1999 after a trial lasting 31 days. His appeal challenged the reliability and corroboration of Russell Warren’s evidence, the admissibility and significance of telephone records, and the sufficiency of the evidence on firearms offences. The appeal court dealt with the convictions; the judgment concludes by dismissing all appeals against conviction.
Warren, an accomplice who had entered a witness protection programme, testified that Meehan helped prepare and test a stolen motorcycle, directed Warren to watch for Guerin’s car near Naas courthouse on the day of the murder, and later said he would deal with disposing of the motorcycle. The trial court warned itself to approach Warren’s evidence with caution, noting his potential rewards and earlier inconsistent accounts. It rejected or declined to rely on other witnesses’ evidence against Meehan on the murder count.
The appeal court held that telephone traffic records were admissible. It said direct evidence established the subscribers and users of the phones, while the remaining call records were generated mechanically. The court found the calls between Meehan, Warren and John Gilligan—including a 12.48pm call from Meehan to Warren, six minutes before Guerin’s last call was interrupted—supported Warren’s account in material particulars. It also pointed to evidence placing Warren in Naas and to a driving instructor’s evidence about events after the shooting. Taken together, the records and other evidence were independent support tending to connect Meehan with the killing, the court said. It found the defence submission that Meehan and Warren had no phone contact that day was contradicted by the records.
The judgment explained that Irish law does not require corroboration as a condition of convicting on accomplice evidence, provided the fact-finder gives an appropriate warning. It said the Special Criminal Court had given that warning and was entitled to treat the telephone records as corroborative and supportive evidence. The appeal court did not abandon the Baskerville approach to corroboration, but described Irish decisions as allowing a nuanced application.
On the firearms convictions, the appeal court found sufficient evidence, including testimony from Charles Bowden, whose evidence the trial court had accepted on drug and firearms matters but not on the murder count. It cited similarities between weapon pouches found at Greenmount and Old Court graveyard, and Juliette Bowden’s evidence that Meehan referred to the firearms location as “the graveyard”. The judgment said the trial court was entitled to accept parts of Bowden’s evidence after cautioning itself about its reliability.